The Pleasure of Creating Art – Time to START by M Theresa Brown

The sheer pleasure an artist receives from simply creating art in some form is what motivates artists of all ages to create.Â Whether it is a folded origami paper or a ten ton metal sculpture,Â the pleasure derived from the very act of creating is the same.

Children don’t need any persuasion to dip into the paint or the clay but as they age, things begin to change. Art is the only subject where a parent, teacher or friend may look you in the eye and say “You

don’t have any talent” and it is accepted.Â I have always found it interesting thatÂ learning to play an instrument is an acknowleged step by step learning process (as is reading, math, etc.) but art? Well you either have it or you don’t has been the prevailing concept! And that declaration influences would be artists for the rest of their lives.

Early “how to” TV shows with artists such as Jon Gnagy, Bill Alexander and Bob Ross Artist DVD’s were instrumental in introducing the concept that “You, too, can learn to draw and paint!”Â And to them, we owe a debt of gratitude for what they pioneered to the masses. Those artists understood the joy that comes to an individual learning to master art skills that oftentimes he/she was told they could never do.Â And in spite of a small art segment that ridiculed these early TV artists, the general public took them to heart and a whole new industry of “art for fun” was created.

Jerrys Artarama, like all art supply companies, is in the business to sell the products that artists use to create art . The Raleigh store in particular, offers art workshops year round from reputable instructors who teach their skills to others in a myriad of styles and techniques. But Jerry’s has recently gone a step further and taken the unique approach of developing a program to encourage people of all ages to develop their interest in art.Â The START program encourages participants to Stop Thinking Art is Really Tough and jump into an art class near where they live. Participating art instructors teach specified basics of art in their own unique ways and methods but the whole point is to reach those who either have never been exposed to art, gave up on art or never started because they “had no talent.” It is an excellent way to reach into remote areas of the state as the pilot program develops and touch schools and after school programs, senior centers and community groups who have no such program in place.

Although DVD’s and online classes may seem to have replaced TV, there is nothing like the “real thing,” a live class, to encourage and motivate beginning through advanced students to START their art!Â And how can you resist a happy person who has just realized that he/she just created an art piece?
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